Point-of-sale (POS) printers are commonly used to print two types of documents: those requiring a partial cut and those requiring a full cut. A partial cut, which is traditionally used for sales receipts, cuts only part of the width of the paper, leaving a small connecting length. This technique is used so that documents do not fall from the printer after they are cut. A full cut however, traditionally used for coupons, cuts across the entire width of the paper, leaving a smooth edge along the entire bottom. This method allows documents to be neatly stacked after exiting the printer.
Prior solutions have provided POS printers with the ability to perform both a partial cut and a full cut, but have required manual intervention to change the cutter setting. For example, one solution allows a user to vary the cut length by stopping a rotary wheel in different positions. Another solution allows a user to position a guillotine blade in one position to produce a partial cut or another position to produce a full cut. Yet another solution allows a user to move a stationary scissor cutter mounted on a blade carrier to different cutting positions. However, these previous solutions have required either multiple cutting mechanisms or manual intervention to change the cutter setting. Such requirements can ultimately require more of the user's time, resulting in more mistakes, and resulting in increased user effort. In addition, some previous solutions require the cutting mechanism to cycle through a shifting process for each cut, causing excess wear and noise.
For at least the aforementioned reasons, there is a need for improved systems and techniques for allowing a POS printer to conveniently perform both full and partial cuts with the same mechanism, without a need for manual intervention, and to reduce wear and noise in the printer.